Barbecue Pot Roast

 

This is a recipe that I can't wait to share! When you have something that you just loved to make and eat, it's really fun to run and tell everyone about it in hopes that they can then enjoy it like you did. Mr. Max and I have simply not been very creative with meals lately. We've had a lot of repeats or easy meals like salads, or simple fish and chicken breasts with roasted veggies. Blame that partially on a whirlwind event schedule and needing the ease, and maybe partially on trying to eat very basic because of the wedding that is approaching.

I can't say that I've been a dieting bride necessarily. I know how to eat well and I know what's good and what is not so good for me. I've just become a little more diligent on those what's good with more veggies and protein, and really strict on the consumption of the not so good like unneeded sugars, excess carbs or salty foods.

Well.... all that is fine and great but sometimes you just need some comfort food! Feeling slightly under the weather and having just one of those weeks, I decided that a pot roast seemed appropriate because it gave me a perfect reason to make a cauliflower and potato puree - mmm potatoes! Pinspired by the fabulous Plain Chicken blog, I used this for reference but made my own version based on what I had in the fridge.

Nutritional facts can be found here, and they were surprisingly not as bad as I thought; this is 8 WW points per serving.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields six servings

• 2 lb rump roast, trimmed (rump is leaner than chuck roast)
• Garlic salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 cup chili sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce (I used our favorite, Austin's Own, Medium Heat)
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. Sriracha
• 2 cups carrots
• 1 cup celery (optional)
• 1/2 cup water (optional)

To start, sprinkle your roast with the garlic salt and pepper, then place in the crock pot. Surround with the celery, then the carrots. I thought I got most of what Plain Chicken used but come to find, I did not. I didn't have a Coke, and didn't want to use one, so I subbed the taste of apple cider vinegar for a little bit of tang and to help compensate for the missing liquid. I decided to start with just 1/4 cup so that it didn't over power and could somewhat keep sugars low, and that amount was perfect. In a bowl, mix the chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire and sriracha together until blended. At this point, I looked at it and thought I needed to "water" it up more so that is when I added the water.

 

Once mixed, pour the sauce over the contents in the crock pot, put the top on and walk away. If you are cooking for over 6 hours, cook on low-medium heat. If you are cooking for under 6 hours, cook on high heat.

When you come back, test the roast to see if it falls apart at the touch and move the contents around to get everything a little saucy.

When the roast is ready, scoop the meat and veggies into a bowl, top with some extra sauce and serve! 

 Served with cauliflower-potato mash

Kate's Easy Cauliflower-Potato Mash

Boil 1 large Yukon gold potato, cut in on inch cubes 

and 2 cups of cauliflower florets.

When soft, drain and add 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt,

with 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. butter.

Use electric beaters to mash until smooth and creamy

Serves 3-4

Tastefully yours,

Barbecue Kolaches

This is an easy recipe to whip up for brunch, tailgates or a potluck need. In April, I was making kolaches one morning and as I stared at the little smokie, I thought to myself: self, you love dousing these and cooking them in BBQ sauce, and you love them rolled up as kolaches. Why couldn't they be both? I decided they should be, but then filed that thought away for another day.

That day came in August when I decided to try it out for a fun girl's potluck brunch hosted by sweet Sara. The result was a very delicious combination that was gobbled up, and if it was gal-approved, I was certain the boys would love it too.

As football season began, my friend Elizabeth and I planned our spread for the first upcoming home football games on the SMU Boulevard. This is our 5th season on the Boulevard together and for all that time, our boys have been talking about someday when they have a tent spot. Their someday came this year when the group was able to finally get a coveted lot in a prime location on the Boulevard. This meant fabulous food spreads would be made, decor would need to be set and a TV with satellite to keep the boys distracted from realizing their tent was becoming a picture out of Southern Living.

Elizabeth and I brought a number of things and this was one of my contributions to the first game day spread. I hope one that you can enjoy them for your next tailgate! They are a little messy to make but sometimes in the kitchen, you just have to get your hands dirty.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields 32 kolaches

• 1 package of your favorite Little Smokie brand sausages (I got Hillshire Farms)
• 1.5 cups BBQ Sauce (I use Austin's Own with a little heat to it)
• 2 packages Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls 
• Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese

To start, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and set out two cookie sheets, greased with non-stick spray. Place the little smokie's into a pot, then smother in the BBQ sauce. Cook them like this on low heat for about an hour. Note: the time frame is really up to you, I like to think that the flavor penetrates the longer it is cooked.

As your sausages sizzle in sauce, roll out the crescent dough and cut each individual triangle in half to create two mini triangles. If my memory and math serves me correctly, you get 8 regular crescent rolls per package, so with this method, you should get 16 per package.

Now the first time I did this, I used finely shredded cheese, which I preferred. This time, I thought we had shredded cheese but we did not, so I cut slivers of the colby-jack cheese instead. This works but if you can do shredded cheese, I would recommend that because it melts better.

Top the dough and cheese slice with a bbq-drenched little smokie and start to roll from widest end to skinny end. This is where the BBQ sauce may cause a little bit of a mess, but that's okay!

Place your rolled bbq kolache on a greased cookie sheet and when ready, pop it in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.

Remove and enjoy your little bites of barbecuey, cheesey, sausagey heaven!

Tastefully yours,

Southwest BBQ Quinoa Bowl

I'll take a little walk down memory lane here for the sake of recipe introduction: as I've mentioned before, it was when we started dating that Mr. Max and I learned just how much we enjoyed cooking both together and in general. Instead of going out to dinner, we would go to the grocery store without a plan and wander the aisles until we came up with something to make.

Flash forward to now.

This past weekend did not yield time to meal plan, so we took off for the grocery store in our more spontaneous vintage fashion. All I knew was that I wanted to use up the quinoa in the pantry and had a plan to revise my Mexi-Texi salad sometime in the near future. We passed by the tantalizing BBQ counter that always smells incredible every time we pass by. They had some BBQ sauce on the counter so we sauntered over to taste test it and that did us in right there! At that moment, the clouds parted and the plan for dinner was formulated. It went a little something like this...

Okay, at the risk of sounding annoying and/or mushy, I had swoon moment #11,876: mid-way through food prep my sous chef informs me that this is his favorite part of the day: when we laugh, talk and make a meal together. I die. (insert high pitched squeal and girly wiggle dance) 6 more months until I'm Mrs. Max!

For nutritional facts, click here; 1 serving is equivalent to 9 WW points.

Grocery List:
Recipe yields 5 servings

• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 2.5 cups)
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. barbecue sauce, divided (Austin's Own in medium will rock your world!)
• 2-3 tbsp. fresh cilantro, diced for garnish

To begin, cook the quinoa according to the package. If you got it from a canister rather than in a package, you cook 2 cups water to every 1 cup quinoa. Rinse, lightly toast in a pan to intensify the flavor, it will start to smell a bit like popcorn. Add the water and bring to a boil, stirring frequently until water is absorbed and the curlique of the seed has popped.

Shred the chicken into a bowl and add the 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir well to combine.

 

In a skillet, add the olive oil and heat to medium-high on the burner. Saute the red onion and bell pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Next add the corn and the black beans, combining with other peppers and onions. Turn the heat to low and let warm until quinoa is fully ready.

 

 

Once the quinoa is cooked, set it in a bowl and stir in the lime juice. Add in the pepper, onion, corn and black bean mixture and stir well. Scoop the southwest quinoa combo into a bowl as a bed, then pile on the BBQ shredded chicken, top with the avocado and sprinkle with the cilantro. Finally, add a drizzle (roughly 1 tbsp) of BBQ sauce over the top of your creation and you are ready to dig in!

 

Tastefully yours,

 

Balsamic BBQ Grilled Chicken

Aside from the mosquitoes and moths, this weekend provided some great patio weather! We enjoyed a lot of time outdoors with a Friday night fundraiser, birthday parties and a baby shower - to end the weekend like we spent it, we decided to grill out on the patio tonight. Browsing through the recipe binder, I came across notes I had scribbled from a Giada DeLaurentiis episode for a Balsamic BBQ glaze. We grabbed some already tenderized chicken cutlets from Whole Foods and fired up the grill to make this delicious dish.

Click here for the nutritional facts calculated from SparkRecipes.com. For Weight Watchers, this chicken dish is only 5 points!

Grocery List:
Sauce measurements makes up to 6 servings

• Desired number of chicken breasts, 4-6 oz. each (we grilled a total of 6 to have leftovers for the week)
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, not packed
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the balsamic, garlic, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard over medium-high and bring to a simmer.

 

Stir well and let bubble for about 10-15 minutes, to reduce by about 1/3 of the starting amount, having thickened like a syrup.

 

Pour into a bowl and reserve about 2 tbsp. worth for dipping.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, then lightly coat with the BBQ sauce then set on the grill. As the chicken cooks, brush with BBQ sauce every few minutes to enrich the flavor. Grill for about 5-6 minutes each, then remove.

 

Served with *lemon-grilled asparagus adding only 2 WW points for a 7 point meal.

*in a small prep bowl, mix 1 tbsp. olive oil with 1 tsp. lemon juice. Brush over the asparagus spears and top with a veggie seasoning or garlic powder. Set in a grill basket and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping the spears half way through. Remove from grill and keep warm until ready to serve.

Tastefully yours, 

 

Black Bean Veggie Quesadillas

I ran by the grocery store on the way home to grab ingredients to make a quick and easy black bean quesadillas, knowing I had a can of black beans in my pantry. I was craving black bean casserole enchiladas but wanted something a little lighter. As I strolled the produce section of Whole Foods, I had grabbed a large tomato, red bell pepper, fresh corn, zucchini, onion, poblano pepper... then I looked up and noticed there was a black bean fresh "salsa" combo in the fresh chopped area next to the pre-chopped onions and garlic. I eyeballed the contents and realized this $3.39 plastic container had everything I needed inside, so I was saving money and time by grabbing this little chunk with about 2 cups worth of the blend, perfect amount for our dinner needs.

I grabbed whole wheat tortillas, cilantro, some low fat mexican-blend cheese and I was on my merry way. This meal took all of 15 minutes to make, but allow more time if you are going to chop through the process yourself. Click here for the nutritional facts calculated at SparkRecipes.com, this dish is 6 WW points per quesadilla.

Grocery List:
Recipe Yields 4 servings

• 1/2 cup black beans (drained and rinsed if making on your own)
• 1/4 cup tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1/4 cup zucchini, diced
• 3 tbsp. poblano pepper, diced
• 3 tbsp. red onion, diced
• 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, diced
• 1.5 tsp. taco seasoning
• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 3/4 cup low-fat Mexican Blend cheese, shredded

In a bowl, mix your veggies and cilantro together. Sprinkle taco seasoning in and stir to coat.

Heat a skillet on medium heat to saute the veggie blend, softening the vegetables.

 

As the veggies saute, spray a griddle pan with non-stick spray and heat on medium-high (7 on a dial). Once nice and hot (about 3-5 minutes), place a tortilla down and let sit for about 1 minute, then flip. This creates heat on the surface that you build the quesadilla on, helping the cheese to melt faster on the already heated tortilla side.

Next, add about 1-2 tbsp. of cheese, trying to spread evenly across the tortilla surface. 

Add a generous scoop (2-3 spoonfuls) of the veggie mix to one half of the tortilla. 

 

Top the veggies with 1/2-1 add'l tbsp. of shredded cheese to help adhere the contents to the folded over side.

Fold the other half over and press for about 30 seconds, then set aside on a plate, keep warm by setting in the microwave to contain and maintain the heat. Repeat instructions to create up to 3 additional quesadillas with the given amount of ingredients. 

Serve with a side of fat-free sour cream and/or guacamole. Dig in and enjoy!

Tastefully yours,

 

Cajun Chicken Kabobs

In honor of Mardi Gras this week, here's some Cajun flavor in the form of chicken and vegetable kabobs. You can create your own creole seasoning or use a store-bought kind (such as Tony Chachere's). This delicious and nutritious dish takes all of 30 minutes from start to finish, with only a handful of groceries. Pick out your favorite grilling veggies and let's get started!

Click here for my recipe calculated at SparkRecipes.com.

Grocery List:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. creole seasoning 
• Pinch of garlic salt
• 1 tsp. sherry or red wine vinegar
• 8 oz. chicken, chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped

Start by preparing your grill. Brush the grate with oil and begin to heat. Now, look at all the pretty colors of your chopped goods. Red, purple, yellow, green, orange.... it's deliciously beautiful.

In a small bowl, mix your olive oil, creole seasoning, a pinch of garlic salt and either sherry or red wine vinegar to help sweeten the taste without adding any kind of sugar.

 

Start to thread the veggies and chicken chunks through the skewer. My random assortment went: onion, red bell pepper, yellow squash, chicken chunk, onion, orange bell pepper, zucchini. You choose your order or thread through at random! I like to try to "book end" the skewer with the chunks of red onion. I used an aluminum casserole dish to set the kabobs on, helping to prep for the next step.

Using a basting brush, lather your creole mix over the chicken and veggies, turning to help coat all sides. The casserole dish helps catch any marinade so you can re-use the drippings if needed.

Place the kabobs on the hot grill and close the lid. Let cook for about 5 minutes, then flip to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove from the grill, let cool and serve!

Tastefully yours,

Parmesan-Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a side dish that can be dressed up or dressed down, continuously reinvented in so many ways. This Valentine's Day, I added another revision to my growing mashed-potato collection and they just might be my favorite to date - whoa. As previously discussed, Mr. Max has developed a recent obsession with truffle oil. It began with various mac and cheese recipes throughout Dallas that featured the decadent addition, then grew to pizzas and truffle butter on steak. We now wanted to experiment with mashed potatoes. Some of our favorite mashed taters are at Truluck's - the perfect creamy blend potatoes with garlic, Parmesan, chives... we've made a recipe pretty dang close before, only this time, I retract the chives and add the truffle oil as the flavor powerhouse. I didn't need to add any additional butter or even any salt when it came time to eat, those additions just weren't needed.

These potatoes aren't what one may call good for you, but they won't break the waistband either. Keep this recipe tucked in your back pocket for a special occasion and I assure you, it will impress your guest(s). Click here for nutritional facts of my recipe calculated at SparkRecipes.com. Serving size is equivalent to 1 cup. Four medium sized Yukons made enough for 4-5 servings, depending on how minimal or generous you are with your wooden spoon.

Grocery List:

•  3 cups Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 inch chunks)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream 
• 1 tbsp. butter 
• 1/4 tsp. white truffle oil

In a pot, add potatoes and fill with water until it is about 2-3 inches above the potatoes. Salt the water and boil on high heat until soft, about 15 minutes.

When the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, drain in a colander and pour cubes into a bowl with the butter, sour cream, Parmesan, milk and chicken broth.

I am a big fan of using electric beaters to whip potatoes, rather than the hand-tool potato masher. Whip the potatoes until they look silky smooth and free of lumps. Now, add the truffle oil and blend again on low speed. Truffle oil is very potent, a little bit goes a long way. Taste test to make sure you have the taste you want, or you can add a little more - just be careful!

Dish it out with the rest of your meal and enjoy! This was our little Valentine's dinner set up, picnic style on a blanket in front of a fire in the fire place.

 Tastefully yours,